Education [Obama]
Author: Obama for America
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- Understanding that America has to out-educate the rest of the world to be competitive in the global economy, President Obama has made education a national priority.
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President Obama has doubled our investment in scholarships and financial aid so students from working- and middle-class families can access and complete the college education they need to get the good jobs of the future.
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President Obama has worked to raise K-12 standards, invest in teachers, and turn around low-performing schools so that children are prepared for college and careers.
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The Obama administration fought to save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of educators across the country.
STUDENT LOAN REFORM
The President signed a new law that makes it easier for students to pay back their federal college loans. Starting in 2014, new borrowers will pay no more than 10 percent of their disposable income, and the President recently proposed accelerating this benefit for current students. The law also allows any remaining debt to be forgiven after 20 years. Those engaged in public-service professions—such as teachers, nurses, or members of the armed forces—will have any remaining debt forgiven after 10 years if they make their payments on time.
MAKING COLLEGE MORE AFFORDABLE
President Obama made college more affordable by doubling funding for Pell Grants, increasing the number of recipients from 6 million to 9 million since 2008. He achieved this in part by eliminating the middlemen from the college-loan program, taking away billions of taxpayer dollars that were going to the banks instead of students.
The President created and extended the American Opportunity Tax Credit, worth as much as $10,000 over four years of school. The college tax credit is expected to have helped an estimated 9.4 million students and families in 2011.
SUPPORTING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
- In his State of the Union address, President Obama challenged schools and states to keep good teachers on the job and keep students in school until they graduate or turn 18.
- The Obama administration also fought to save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of educators across the country. The Recovery Act supported roughly 300,000 education jobs, and in 2010 President Obama helped school districts prevent 161,000 teacher and school staff layoffs.
REFORMING NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
To give states the flexibility to use local solutions to improve their schools, and in the face of congressional inaction, President Obama acted to offer states relief from No Child Left Behind mandates.
RACE TO THE TOP: PARTNERING WITH STATES TO RAISE STANDARDS
- The administration implemented the Race to the Top program, which rewards states for making tough reforms—raising standards, helping teachers improve, and turning around struggling schools.
- Since 2010, the administration has awarded Race to the Top grants, including Early Learning Challenge grants, to 21 states and the District of Columbia, which serve 65 percent of the nation’s children and 59 percent of all low-income students in the country. Overall, the Race to the Top competition has encouraged states to adopt a high-quality framework of educational standards—and 46 states have already adopted the reforms.
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
President Obama is investing in competitive grants to reform community colleges, supporting partnerships between community colleges and employers to provide pathways to good jobs.
As a candidate, Barack Obama proposed the creation of a community college partnership program to support institutions that provide a stepping stone to better jobs for millions of Americans. As President, he kept his word and created a new Community College to Career Fund to build on that progress.
POST 9/11 G.I. BILL
Fact: President Obama signed into law an update to the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which makes it easier for National Guard members who performed active service to qualify for benefits, and allows for education benefits to be transferred to family members.
GIVING ALL STUDENTS A SHOT
Fact: Along with proposing other common-sense immigration reforms, President Obama is committed to giving the hundreds of thousands of hardworking students who aren’t yet American citizens a chance to earn their citizenship. Immigration
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